5 TECH TRENDS TAKING OVER 2018

2017 was a big year for tech; Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, 360 Cameras, and many other technologies made their way into the mainstream. So, what’s in store for 2018? Here are the top 5 trends that are taking over this year.

1. IoT

Last year was a big one for the Internet of Things (IoT), this year you’ll see it become much more main stream. Simply put, the IoT is all physical devices, vehicles, home appliances, and other electronic devices or software that can connect to the internet and exchange data. From wearable tech such as smart watches, to smart home devices like Google Home and Amazon Nest – this year IoT is taking our daily lives to a new level of tech.

2. Automation

If you’ve ever used a self-checkout at a grocery store, you know that many services that were once performed by humans can be done by bots – often more efficiently and cost effectively. A study found that 85% of customer interaction will be managed without a human by 2020, and that’s a reason why you’ll notice many e-commerce websites integrating live chats with automated responses. This gives customers the answers they are looking for right away, without needing to call customer support or wait for an email.

Facebook is hopping on this trend, by offering a new feature for brand pages called Instant Replies. Pages can turn on this feature so when somebody sends a private message for the first time, it greets them with an automatic reply. This great tool lets potential clients know the page is active and responsive.

Google now has ear buds that translate up to 40 languages in real time. Just imagine the opportunity for international business development.

3. Datafication

Whether you are messaging a friend on social media, buying clothes online or signing in to your local coffee shops’ Wi-Fi, every move you make online is tracked in some way or another.

The amount of information collected every day is mind blowing: more data has been created in the past two years than in the entire history of the human race. With more information at our fingertips, marketers can use this data to better serve consumers based on habits as simple as the time they wake up in the morning to the time they go to bed.

4. AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has human-like features that can learn, reason, plan, perceive and process natural information. Not only is this incredibly innovative, but it is only just the beginning! Drones, robots, and driverless vehicles are now mainstream. Hate parallel parking? No problem! Most car models coming out this year have a self-driving feature and can do this for you.

AI is also being used for things besides our entertainment, for example banks may use it to monitor account behavior to prevent fraud. It’s interesting to see how this technology has evolved and we can’t wait to see where it will go.

5. Social Video

Social videos have risen to be one of the best ways to share information. For marketers, video content is key to standing out in front of your audience. The average website visitor spends 88% more time on a website that contains video. Adding a video to your website also increases the chance of a front page Google result – and what business or organization wouldn’t want that?

From a consumer’s standpoint, even simple videos are an easy and often times entertaining way to get the information we want. Over the last year or so, we’ve seen a significant increase in the amount of video content we are creating for our clients, including Public Safety Canada, Egg Farmers of Canada, and York Region Transit.

Want to learn how you can leverage these technologies to reach and engage your audience in new ways?